Posted on :Wednesday , 18th April 2018

Kenya will be one of the beneficiaries of a new Ksh 3 billion (US$280 million) undertaking, which will aim to increase incomes and improve food security of 30 million farming households.   

This partnership has been named, ‘The Partnership for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation in Africa (PIATA), was launched at the 2017 African Green Revolution (AGRF) by four organizations and has been described as an innovative and transformative financing vehicle drive.  

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will come together to finance, accelerate and sustain agricultural transformation in as many as 11 African nations, while improving the food security of 30 million smallholder farms. 

The minds behind PIATA believe that a major impact can be made through strategic partnerships that can further build on the progress made by each member. An initiative like this will work to pull together members together and help sustain transformation.

Other priority countries include Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique.

Managing Director of the Rockefeller Foundation Africa Regional Office, Mr. Mamadou Biteye was quoted saying, “We are pleased to be part of PIATA. We see it as an opportunity to leverage even more from the partners and their huge networks, for greater impact. We are looking forward to deploying the technologies that we have helped develop over the years, together with our shared knowledge and grant support, to work with our esteemed partners. Together we hope to catalyze Africa’s pursuit for prosperity through agriculture. PIATA is critical in our ongoing push to build the resilience of farmers and systems that affect them, especially in light of increasing challenges such as climate change, among others.”

Dr. Agnes Kalibata, the President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), gave her backing to the initiative saying that she believes that it would play a big role in accelerating Africa’s path to prosperity by growing inclusive economies and jobs through agriculture.

“We have witnessed significant progress in our agricultural transformation over the past decade, with countries that have prioritized the sector recording notable drops in poverty levels, improved food security and inclusive economic growth. PIATA will be critical in bringing key players together to support governments in their push to fully unlock the potential of Africa’s smallholder farming and agribusiness as the surest drivers of job creation and the continent’s inclusive economic transformation,” she said.